What started only two years ago as a small trailer slinging smoked meat in a vacant lot has now become a brick and mortar restaurant that many regard as the best BBQ in the whole state of Texas. Count us among that group. To experience it, you’ll have to show up by 10:30 am to get a taste of what may be the greatest brisket ever made before the place sells out, typically around 1:30. Trust us, it’s all worth it. As a matter of fact, this place is so good that one of us is considering naming our firstborn child either Franklin or Barbeque, depending on the sex.

Foreign & Domestic is one of the most exciting and underrated spots in Austin. Husband and wife duo Ned and Jodi Elliott step outside the box at this funky and cozy eatery with dishes like beef heart tartare and pig brains with huckleberries. Trust us, they are far more approachable and delicious than they sound. If you’d like to go with something more familiar, order the equally fantastic braised wagyu beef.

If WWE quit putting on wrestling events and started opening up taco joints, they’d create something like Torchy’s. We’ve never seen such an over the top approach to putting things inside a tortilla, and just like WWE, you might be a little embarrassed to admit how much you like it. Try the Trailer Park taco and order it trashy for a fried chicken taco that comes with a heaping dollop of queso instead of lettuce.

For brunch, Olivia’s outdoor patio is never a bad idea—their famous SOS 2012 (blackened kobe beef tips atop white toast and topped with cream gravy and fried eggs) is sure to cure the most brutal hangovers. And if you’re rolling with a crew who are all BBQ’ed out but still need a hearty meal, Olivia is the place. Who’s in the mood for a massive antelope chop with duck fat fingerling potatoes and smoked deer tongue?

On one hand, we find ourselves growing leery of all the trendy gourmet burger joints around the country—especially ones that have healthy options. On the other hand, we occasionally discover a place like Hopdoddy. This new, sleekly designed burger joint on South Congress grinds all of their premium Black Angus beef on site every morning. Among our favorite options are the Primetime with kobe beef, brie cheese, and truffle oil, and the Terlingua with chile con carne and Fritos.

The donuts at Gourdough’s are so absurd and huge and amazing that you’ll try against all odds to finish one. We love the Mother Clucker (fried chicken strips with honey butter on top of a doughnut), the Black Out (brownie batter, fudge icing, and chocolate covered brownie bites), and the Flying Pig (bacon with maple syrup icing).

Uchi and sister restaurant Uchiko might be Austin’s most nationally celebrated restaurants, with James Beard awards and Top Chef titles between the two of them. Not that those things should mean much to you. All you need to know is that this is the best Japanese and sushi in the region. Both restaurants serve fish flown in from Japan every day, and both have a menu that goes far beyond sushi—like Uchiko’s pork jowl, with brussels-sprout kimchee, or Uchi’s Machi Cure, with smoked baby yellow&#xAD;tail, yucca chips, Asian pear, marcona almonds, and garlic brittle. Hit Uchi between 5:00pm and 6:30pm for their Sake Social Menu and you can get some of the best bites in the restaurant at half the menu price.

LEAVE THE DIVES TO UNDERGRADS—GRAB A TABLE AT AUSTIN’S MORE REFINED WATERING HOLES

If you’re looking for a light meal and drinks, Easy Tiger’s the perfect place to throw back an IPA with some freshly baked bread and house cured meats and cheeses. It’s got a downstairs beer garden too and—best of all—a prime location on Austin’s 6th Street.

If you want to go real baller status, rent out the Cattle Baron Suite at The Driskill, a historic landmark hotel in the center of downtown built by a cattle baron in the 1880s. It’s basically what you would imagine a "baron" to live in (huge and awesome and full of dark wood), and you can get it for about a tenth of what a room like this in Vegas would cost.

Austin isn’t known for their quaint, boutique hotels, as most of the options anywhere near downtown are part of a chain. However, just off South Congress in one of our favorite parts of town are two quasi-hidden gems. Hotel San Jose and Saint Cecilia share the same owners and a similar laid back vibe. It’s the perfect escape from all of the action on 6th Street. It’s proximity to shopping and restaurants is a plus, but the real coup is Jo’s Coffee across the street. It has some of the best iced coffee in town and, if you go early, you can score one of their breakfast tacos before they run out.

Austin isn’t called the Live Music Capital of the World for nothing. There aren’t many outdoor stages that trump the one at Stubb’s. It’s an incredible place to see a rock show and drink beers. Antone’s is another legendary blues and rock music venue, and all buzz worthy indie rock bands now come to play when they’re in town (oh, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, too.) If you ever get a chance to see a show at the new, state of the art ACL Live downtown, consider yourself lucky. That place is a modern temple of sound. And if you’re looking to get a little weird, Beauty Bar is the place to go. They’re the place to see upstart DJs before they become the next Skrillex.

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